Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc in "The Founder," a new biopic that looks at the man who built the McDonald's empire. Spectrum News film critic Neil Rosen filed the following review.
Before he discovered the McDonald's brothers revolutionary fast food stand, the first of its kind before people even knew what fast food was, Ray Kroc was kind of loser. He was a middle-aged guy who was trying to sell multi-mixer milkshake machines and he was failing miserably. Kroc was just a small step ahead of "The Honeymooners’" Ralph Kramden with crazy, get rich quick ideas that went nowhere.
Kroc's rise, late in life, from nothing to creating a billion dollar corporation is fascinating. It's also sharp, funny and brought vividly to life by three factors. One, Michael Keaton is electric in the role and makes the whole thing go down real easy. Two, screenwriter Robert D. Siegel, who also did a great job writing "The Wrestler" and "Big Fan," adds a nice touch of wit and irony to the proceedings. Three, director John Lee Hancock has a good grasp of both the material and the subject he is dealing with. He's not only terrific at period detail, but the levity that he brings to the table, as he tells the tale of a guy who's sort of a thief, is very interesting.
The supporting cast is also terrific, including Nick Offerman and John Carrol Lynch as the McDonald brothers who get ripped off by Kroc. They also block Kroc's attempts at making all three of them much richer at every turn, so in some ways Croc becomes more sympathetic.
It's a fascinating history lesson and it was on my ten best list of 2016. If you think you deserve a break today, see this movie.
Neil Rosen’s Big Apple Rating:
Four Apples